From bad to worsee: Mental Health in the Correctional system in Colombia and public policies. An overview

Abstract

Introduction: Regardless of whether criminal activity may or may not be related to mental illness, mental health is a determinant factor in the management of individuals in detention centers.

Objectives. To formulate the status of a diagnosis regarding the initial evaluation and current knowledge of mental health issues in the Colombian correctional institutions.

Materials and methods. We reviewed the INPEC and USPEC archives as well as the current literature in Spanish and English on this subject and conducted semi-structured interviews and administered the Hare PCL-R and the IPDE instruments to detainees in prisons. We also conducted semi structured interviews and focal groups with the prisons’ staff.

Results. We identified a lack of mental health diagnosis, inadequate standards of care, mental health care that focused primarily on individuals incompetent to stand trial, a deficient effort in the prevention and intervention with detainees with substance use disorders, a notorious lack of resources and insufficient staff to address this problem, as well as a clear absence of specialists and inappropriate presence of undergraduate students from different university programs.

Conclusions. The mental health care of people deprived of liberty requires the use of specialized and standardized instruments that will support clear conceptual differences of mental health and mental illness, suitable, trained personnel, strengthening of current psychosocial support programs and a more efficient health care system within the correctional system.